The Baha’i Fast: A River of Life-Giving Waters

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The Baha’i teachings have a clear recommendation for everyone—the gradual awakening and nourishment of the soul through a regular practice of fasting, meditation and prayer.

This kind of systematic, daily spiritual practice has the same kind of effect on the soul that regular daily exercise has on the body.

We all know that playing a sport or working out at the gym or taking a brisk walk or lifting weights doesn’t do much good if you only do it once in a great while—but as part of a regular fitness program, those things can make a significant difference in your health and your sense of well-being. In the same way, a regular commitment to annual fasting along with mindful daily meditation and prayer has the best possible benefit for your soul:

I pray to God that daily ye may advance in spirituality, that God’s love may be more and more manifested in you, that the thoughts of your hearts may be purified, and that your faces may be ever turned towards Him. – Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 75.

I pray in your behalf that your hearts may be enlightened with the light of the love of God; that your minds may develop daily; that your spirits may become aglow with the fire and illumination of His glad tidings, until these divine foundations may become established throughout the human world. – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 66.

Developing such a regular practice of sustained mindfulness, the Baha’i teachings say, opens the door to a connection between our souls and their Creator:

Praise be to God, thy heart is engaged in the commemoration of God, thy soul is gladdened by the glad tidings of God and thou art absorbed in prayer. The state of prayer is the best of conditions, for man is then associating with God. Prayer verily bestoweth life, particularly when offered in private and at times, such as midnight, when freed from daily cares.

Those souls that, in this day, enter the divine kingdom and attain everlasting life, although materially dwelling on earth, yet in reality soar in the realm of heaven. Their bodies may linger on earth but their spirits travel in the immensity of space. For as thoughts widen and become illumined, they acquire the power of flight and transport man to the kingdom of God. – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 202.

If you’d like to give it a try, simply set aside a regular time for reflection, meditation and prayer each day. Don’t overdo it—the Baha’i writings say that prayer should never be too lengthy, burdensome or oppressive. Instead, it should lighten and enlighten the soul:

The highest and most elevating state is the state of prayer. Prayer is communion with God. … Its efficacy is conditional upon the freedom of the heart from extraneous suggestions and mundane thoughts. The worshipper must pray with a detached spirit, unconditional surrender of the will, concentrated attention and a magnetic spiritual passion. His innermost being must be stirred with the ethereal breeze of holiness. If the mirror of his life is polished from the dross of all desires the heavenly pictures and star-like images of the kingdom of God will become fully reflected therein. Then he will be given power to translate these celestial forms into his own daily life and the lives of many thousands. – Abdu’l-Baha, Star of the West, Volume 5, p. 433.

As you know from reading this series of essays, along with prayer and meditation, Baha’is fast once a year for 19 days, abstaining from food and drink throughout the daylight hours. During the last 19-day Baha’i month of the year, Baha’is attempt to detach from the material world and connect with the spiritual one. You can try it yourself—it’s simple, free, and there are no strings attached. You may find that trying the Baha’i practice of fasting, prayer and meditation allows you to “translate the celestial forms” into your own daily life, too. You may find that the Baha’i Fast and the regular prayer and meditation that go along with it become “a river of life-giving waters.”

These three spiritual practices—fasting, prayer and meditation—offer Baha’is and others the opportunity to connect with the Creator and, at the same time, know themselves:

Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! These are the days whereon Thou hast bidden all men to observe the fast, that through it they may purify their souls and rid themselves of all attachment to anyone but Thee, and that out of their hearts may ascend that which will be worthy of the court of Thy majesty and may well beseem the seat of the revelation of Thy oneness. Grant, O my Lord, that this fast may become a river of life-giving waters and may yield the virtue wherewith Thou hast endowed it. – Baha’u’llah, Baha’i Prayers, pp. 250-251.

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David Langness writes and edits for BahaiTeachings.org and is a journalist and literary critic for Paste Magazine. He and his wife Teresa live in the Sierra foothills in Northern California.Read more